HMCS Windsor won’t meet year-end timetable

Tests around Halifax are going well, but the progress of one of Canada’s four submarines will still be set back by several months due to a faulty generator, according to the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Windsor has been undergoing tests around Halifax for months and can sometimes be spotted moving through the harbour.

Its 40- to 45-person crew spends much of its time at sea doing a variety of tests, including full dives.

“To date, all conducted sea trials have gone well. We’ve successfully completed them,” said Rich Feltham, commander of Maritime Operations Group 5.

But the navy will still miss its target of having three fully operational submarines by the end of the year.

Windsor is supposed to complete testing, including torpedo firing, this fall. But it will have to go into a few months of maintenance to replace its generator, Feltham said.

That will push completion into 2014.

HMCS Victoria had been docked since 2005 but was declared operational last year. It is based out of British Columbia.

HMCS Chicoutimi is still undergoing extensive work. It is the most infamous of the submarines, after catching fire during its maiden voyage in 2004. One navy officer died as a result. The Defence Department is trying to have the Chicoutimi ready to start operations by the end of this year.

When three submarines are working properly, the navy will consider the fleet to be fully operational, or in a “steady state.” The plan is to have three submarines functioning at any given time while one undergoes a two-year break for refits and repairs.

HMCS Corner Brook is not expected to be fully functional until 2016 after running aground last year.

The submarines have been a huge disappointment after being bought at the seemingly discounted price of $750 million from the British navy in 1998. Since they started sailing in 2003, Canada’s submarines have jointly been at sea for 1,131 days, as of the end of April.

That works out to about $663,000 per day a submarine has sailed, based on just the initial cost. The years of work the submarines have required would raise that significantly.

A recent report by the Laurier Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives questions whether Canada should cut its losses and scrap the whole program.

But people in government continue to defend the program. They say it is a useful deterrent for Canada to have functional submarines, and allied partners like training with Canada because the diesel submarines are quieter than some newer nuclear models.

New $531-million submarine contract protects 200 jobs at Esquimalt

B.C.’s shipbuilding and repair industry will get a shot of good news Thursday when the Harper government announces a five-year, $531-million contract extension to repair and upgrade Canada’s fleet of four diesel-electric submarines, The Vancouver Sun has learned.

The contract, following a similar agreement struck in 2008, will protect roughly 200 jobs at the department of national defence’s Fleet Maintenance Facility in Esquimalt, according to a federal official.

Another 200 jobs will be protected at locations elsewhere in Canada, he said.

“This significant federal investment will support more than 400 high-quality jobs, improve the long-term sustainability of B.C.’s shipbuilding industry and provide the best tools for Canada’s sailors,” he said in a prepared statement.

The contract was won in a competitive bid by Babcock Canada Inc., a subsidiary of the British multinational firm Babcock International Group PLC.

Babcock International won the original contract in 2008 after it teamed up with Weir Canada Inc. of Mississauga, Ont., to create a consortium called the Canadian Submarine Management Group.

However, Babcock announced in 2011 that CSMG would be renamed Babcock Canada Inc. after Weir’s share of the joint venture was transferred to Babcock.

The original contract award caused a political flap because Babcock beat out Irving Shipbuilding, which wanted to keep the repair work in Halifax.

One of the critics was Green party leader Elizabeth May, who at the time was planning her run against Defence Minister Peter MacKay in his Nova Scotia riding.

May, who accused the government of an “anti-Atlantic bias,” is now the MP for the Vancouver Island riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands.

The original five-year contract in 2008 was worth $370 million over five years, but if CSMG met performance targets the contract was to be extended over 15 years, for a total value of up to $1.5 billion.

Thursday’s announcement gives a clear indication that Babcock has met those targets.

The fleet of four Victoria-class diesel-electric submarines has had a rocky history after the Liberal government made what appeared to be the bargain-basement purchase of the mothballed subs from the Royal Navy for $750 million in 1998.

It took far longer and was costlier than expected to make the vessels seaworthy, and in 2004 the HMCS suffered a fire that left one officer dead. In 2011, HMCS Corner Brook ran aground near Vancouver Island during manoeuvres.

There are now two subs, HMCS Victoria and HMCS Windsor, that are fully operational.

HMCS Chicoutimi is currently being serviced at Esquimalt but is expected to be ready for sea trials later this year.

The HMCS Corner Brook is also in Esquimalt for both repairs and a refit.

The fleet is “at the highest state of readiness that they’ve ever been,” the source said.

Navy low on frigates to ship back HMCS Toronto crew

A shortage of frigates ready to go to sea is forcing the Royal Canadian Navy to fly hundreds of sailors back and forth from the Middle East.

HMCS Toronto is based in the Arabian Sea, but rather than sail the vessel back to port the navy will instead fly a new crew across the Atlantic and bring the old crew back by the same means.

The unconventional switch is happening as the navy modernizes 12 of its frigates. The navy said it doesn’t want to abandon its commitments patrolling the Middle East.

“This is the most effective and expeditious way to keep our operations going in the Arabian Sea,” said Lt.-Cmdr. Bruno Tremblay, a spokesman for the navy in Halifax.

Five hundred sailors, two helicopters and several dozen civilian dockworkers will begin the crew swap in the upcoming weeks.

The navy said a Canadian Forces aircraft will be used.

HMCS Toronto sailed from Halifax in January.

Canada’s submarine fleet needs to start from scratch

Defence Minister Peter MacKay blames the Liberals for Canada’s troubled fleet of second-hand Victoria-class submarines. It was the Liberals who purchased the four British-made vessels for the suspiciously low price of $750-million in 1998. Yet it was none other than MacKay himself who, 10 years later, persuaded his Conservative colleagues not to scrap them. It was MacKay who signed taxpayers up for another $1.5-billion worth of refits and repairs, thereby throwing good money after bad.

It was apparent long before 2008 that the submarines were deeply flawed. The diesel engines were designed for railroad locomotives and not the rapid stops and starts required of submarines. There were defects in the torpedo tubes, making it possible for both the inner and outer doors to be open at the same time, even while the subs were submerged. The subs were mothballed in saltwater for four years before Canada bought them, and years more before we took possession. They suffered serious corrosion — the diving depth of HMCS Windsor is now restricted due to rust damage on the hull.

Shortly after Canada took possession, 1,500 litres of saltwater spilled into HMCS Corner Brook because of a malfunctioning Submerged Signal Ejector — a device that is used to deploy decoys while submerged. HMCS Victoria experienced serious problems with its cooling system. And a deadly fire broke out on HMCS Chicoutimi when seawater entering through an open hatch caused an electrical short in wiring that had just one layer of waterproof sealant, instead of the three layers the construction specifications had required. In 2004, the electrical system on Victoria was destroyed when the submarine was hooked up to an on-shore electric supply. The Halifax Chronicle Herald reported that the Navy spent about $200,000 after the accident “to buy old technology that mirrors what the sub’s British builders used” – equipment that one of the Navy’s own “electrical technologists” said “probably goes back to the ‘60s.”

In 2007, Windsor entered a refit that was supposed to take three years but ended up taking six. Documents obtained by the CBC later explained that every system had major problems. Spare parts are also difficult to obtain.

It was in this context that MacKay pushed for the $1.5-billion refit and repair contract, a move rendered all the more perplexing by the fact that, by 2008, the submarines were already between 15-19 years old. This meant that the most one could hope for from the vessels, after their refits, was a single decade of service.

 Which is not very long when you consider that, for the same amount of money, Canada could have procured between 3-4 brand new diesel-electric submarines based on proven designs from France or Germany.

  

Chicoutimi has been out of the water since the fire in 2004, and will remain in dry dock until at least the end of this year

Today, five years after the $1.5-billion contract, MacKay insists the situation is improving. Which is true, if going from horrendous to bad counts as an improvement. Corner Brook was damaged in an accident in 2011 and put out of action until 2012. It is scheduled to return to dry dock for three years in 2014. In December 2012, a defect was discovered in one of Windsor’s two diesel engines, which resulted in the submarine having to operate on just one engine. This put the sub on limited duty. She will be taken out of service later this year so that the engine can be replaced. Chicoutimi has been out of the water since the fire in 2004, and will remain in dry dock until at least the end of this year. Victoria, which emerged from six years in dry dock in 2011, is scheduled to return there for three years in 2016.

According to the Department of National Defence, Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines have accumulated a total of just 1,131 days at sea in the decade since 2003 — about 30 days per submarine per year. It’s time to stop throwing good money after bad. If Canada wants to maintain this capability, we need to start from scratch.

Submarine HMCS Windsor hobbled after $209M refit

More trouble for Canada's fleet of used British submarines.

The Royal Canadian Navy has confirmed that HMCS Windsor – fresh from a $209 million refit – is unable to perform as expected because of a broken mission-critical diesel generator.

"We have restricted her in range of operations and her endurance," Captain Luc Cassivi, director of Canada's submarine force told CBC in an interview.

That means that the Windsor will only be able to operate in Canadian coastal waters until the diesel generator – a huge 16 cylinder engine – is removed from the submarine and replaced.

The Windsor has a second diesel generator which is still working. The diesel generators are used to charge the batteries that allow the submarine to operate under water.

Restrictions in place

A source has told CBC that the submarine's diving depth is severely restricted and the navy has been forced to withdraw the sub from planned exercises off the southern U.S. coast.

Capt. Cassivi said he is unable to provide exact details of the restrictions because they are "classified and linked to operational capabilities," but he denies that any exercises have been cancelled.

"It's an unexpected defect, and that is why we are going through the investigative process," said Capt. Cassivi.

The Halifax–based Windsor went back in the water in April, 2012 after a five-year refit designed to bring the submarine up to Canadian standards. The refit was three years behind schedule and until now, the navy has refused to say exactly how much it cost.

Capt. Cassivi confirmed to CBC that the Windsor's five-year refit totalled $209 million. The cost of removing and replacing the diesel generator is not included in the refit price.

"We have a plan for rectification as soon as the parts are available," said Capt. Cassivi.

The submarine should be hauled out of the water in Halifax in late summer and it could take a "few months" to replace the engine, he said.

One operational submarine

Canada purchased the four Victoria-class submarines in 1998 after the British navy declared them surplus. At $750 million, the deal was hailed as a bargain, and at a price far less than buying new submarines.

HMCS Victoria completed its refit last year at about the same $209 million cost as the Windsor, said Capt. Cassivi.

HMCS Chicoutimi's refit is more complicated and expensive because of damage done to the submarine by a fire that killed one sailor on the boat's first voyage under a Canadian flag. The Chicoutimi has been sidelined ever since the 2004 fire but may become operational by the end of the year.

Also, the refit to HMCS Corner Brook is expected to exceed the $200 million-plus price tag because of damage done to the sub's bow when it slammed into the seafloor off British Columbia. The Corner Brook has not gone to sea since its grounding in June 2011.

The unexpected repairs to the Windsor and the resulting restrictions means that the navy has only one fully operational submarine in service. The west coast-based HMCS Victoria – which was discovered to have a large dent in its hull after delivery – is the only submarine capable of firing torpedoes, unrestricted diving and movement.

Canada - Need to maintain aging fleet hurting Navy’s flexibility

A new Defence Department report shows the Royal Canadian Navy stretched thin over the past year as aging ships were forced to into dry-dock for maintenance and refits to keep them floating.

The repairs were scheduled and the report says the navy was able to do its job despite having fewer ships available.

But the revelations highlight the pressure the federal government, shipbuilding industry, but especially navy commanders are under to start cutting steel on replacement vessels in the coming years as the existing fleet continues getting older.

According to the report, tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday, the biggest challenge facing the navy was when its two support ships, the HMCS Protecteur and Preserver, went into maintenance at the same time.

Both vessels are nearly 50 years old and were supposed to start being replaced this year, but design and money concerns have delayed delivery of the first new joint support ship until at least spring 2018.

The report describes the supply ships as “integral” to the navy’s ability to do its job, and says the repairs were essential to keep them operational.

But because of their absence in late 2011 and early 2012, the navy was forced to turn to allies for help replenishing other Canadian vessels at sea until the re-supply ships came back online.

Similarly, planned maintenance and scheduled refits reduced the number of Halifax-class frigates and Iroquois-class destroyers naval commanders had at their disposal, making it more difficult to respond to an emergency.

The report said “careful planning” ensured enough warships were available, but that the maintenance programs, particularly the frigate overhauls, “will continue to exert pressure on the total number of available major warships.”

A senior naval official said there are currently seven frigates unavailable for operations right now.

While the absence of so many ships has been anticipated and is being managed, the official confirmed it has reduced the navy’s flexibility.

That challenge will only increase as the existing ships get older and until replacements come on line, the official said.

The frigate-refit program is expected to run until early 2018, but that may not solve the navy’s problems as Postmedia News reported in June that the country’s nearly 40-year-old destroyers will begin retiring in 2017 — before replacements are ready.

There have also been fears a three-year delay in delivery of the navy’s first new armed Arctic vessels, which are being built by Irving Shipyards in Halifax as part of the federal government’s $35-billion shipbuilding strategy, will push back the timeline on replacements for the destroyers and frigates.

Government of Canada Invests in Jobs and Naval Communications Technology

The Government of Canada today announced a contract to DRS Technologies Canada Ltd. for an advanced wireless radio communications network for the Halifax-class frigates. The announcement that will support skilled work for employees in Ottawa, Ontario and Bedford, Nova Scotia during a five year period, was made today by the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie).

"Our Government is proud of its historic investments in the Canadian Armed Forces, while supporting jobs and economic growth across our country," said Minister Valcourt. "The upgraded radio network will enable the onboard frigate crew members to more reliably communicate with each other. It will also assure work for skilled employees both in Ontario and Nova Scotia."

"Our Government's priority remains the economy and job creation," said the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women. "Through this contract award we are not only ensuring that the Royal Canadian Navy has the tools it needs to do the jobs we ask of it, we're also contributing to the Canadian economy."

The 12 Canadian-built Halifax-class multi-role patrol frigates are considered the backbone of the RCN fleet. They can deploy anywhere in the world - with NATO or individual allied nations. Most recently, HMCS Charlottetown has been deployed as part of NATO operations in the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea. This communications capability will permit the ship's crew to more effectively and safely conduct exercises and operations in defence of Canada.

The competitively awarded contract falls under the existing Halifax-class Modernization / Frigate Equipment Life Extension project. The contract, valued at approximately $12.3 million, includes the procurement, delivery, installation, and verification of the radio equipment required for each of the 12 Halifax-class ships, between 2012 and 2017.

Arrested Canadian naval officer may also have leaked top-level British, American and Australian intelligence documents

Jeffrey Delisle was charged in Canada in January with communicating over last five years 'with foreign entity'

Report today said he may also have compromised British, U.S. and Australian intelligence

Canadian naval officer Jeffrey Delisle was arrested in January for allegedly leaking secrets. It today emerged that he may also have compromised top-level Australian, British and American intelligence

Jeffrey Delisle, a naval intelligence officer, was charged in Canada in January with communicating over the past five years 'with a foreign entity, information that the government of Canada is taking measures to safeguard'.

Canadian reports said Ottawa expelled four Russian diplomats in the aftermath of Delisle's arrest, although Moscow denied this.

Today's Sydney Morning Herald, citing Australian security sources, said Delisle also allegedly sold to Moscow signals intelligence - information gathered by the interception of radio and radar signals - collected by the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

It said much of the information was more highly classified than the disclosures attributed to U.S. Private Bradley Manning, who is accused of releasing a vast cache of classified files to whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

The newspaper said Delisle was the subject of high-level consultations between the Australian and Canadian governments and was discussed at a secret international conference in New Zealand earlier this year.

An Australian security source quoted by the newspaper said Delisle's access was 'apparently very wide' and that 'Australian reporting was inevitably compromised'.

'The signals intelligence community is very close, we share our intelligence overwhelmingly with the US, UK and Canada,' a former Australian Defence Signals Directorate officer said.

Canadian reports said Ottawa expelled four Russian diplomats in the aftermath of Delisle's arrest, although Moscow denied this

Canadian reports said Ottawa expelled four Russian diplomats in the aftermath of Delisle's arrest, although Moscow denied this

An Australian Defence Department spokeswoman said the government did not comment on intelligence matters.

She said: 'However, the Australian government takes national security very seriously and is continually reviewing and strengthening policies, practices and techniques to ensure Australia's national security.'

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key refused to confirm whether the intelligence conference took place and said he could not discuss matters of national security.

He said: 'I'm not in a position to be able to, or want to, comment on our national security. These things are sometimes better left unsaid.'

Delisle's offences allegedly occurred in the Canadian capital Ottawa, Halifax and in towns in Ontario and Nova Scotia provinces, court documents said.

He has been charged under Canada's Security of Information Act, with a conviction carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Canada orders 7 patrol ships, but are they the best for Arctic waters?

Analysis: Canada's Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) have been in the pipeline for five years. Now, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has signed a CAN $9.3 million contract with the Nova Scotia-based Irving Shipbuilding to begin work on the vessels.

It's an important first step, as for a while the number of AOPS that Canada would acquire was in flux.

However, the amount of money represented by the contract is quite small, as the ships are estimated to cost $3.1 billion to acquire and a another $4.3 billion to maintain. With the funding from the initial contract, Irving Shipbuilding will review the existing blueprints for the AOPS and begin working on an execution strategy.

As part of Canada's National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, Irving Shipbuilding received a $25 billion contract to perform work on 21 large combat vessels. Vancouver Shipyards will construct seven large non-combat vessels under an $8 billion agreement.

Canada First defense strategy

In a press release, Defense Minister Peter McKay stated, "This strategic relationship with Canadian shipyards will help us deliver on our commitment to the Canada First Defence Strategy, and enable us to provide our Navy with the modern ships they need to defend Canada's interests at home and abroad. Canada has the longest coastline of any nation on Earth and these new ships will allow the Royal Canadian Navy to enforce Canada's northern sovereignty."

The Canada First Defense Strategy, released in 2008, is billed as a "detailed road map for the modernization of the Canadian Forces." The strategy will provide $490 billion to invest in Canada's military. Sixty-billion dollars of that will be spent on new equipment, such as the AOPS and maritime patrol aircraft, to monitor the Arctic.

Six core missions for the Canadian Forces are identified in the document -- the first being the capacity to "conduct daily domestic and continental operations, including in the Arctic and through NORAD."

Three-ocean navy all in one ship?

In Canada's Arctic region, changing weather patterns are altering the environment, making it more accessible to sea traffic and economic activity. Retreating ice cover has opened the way for increased shipping, tourism and resource exploration, and new transportation routes are being considered, including through the Northwest Passage.

While this promises substantial economic benefits for Canada, it has also brought new challenges from other shores. These changes in the Arctic could spark an increase in illegal activity, with important implications for Canadian sovereignty and security and a potential requirement for additional military support.

Canada is a three-ocean country, and it desires a navy that is able to effectively operate in all three bodies of water.

As I have discussed before, even though the AOPS technically fall under the heading of "combat vessels," Vice-Admiral Paul Maddison has stated that the ships will not be "complex combatant[s]." They will not be armed enough to seriously be able to defend themselves in combat. As such, Canada is making a compromise between Arctic patrol vessels and offshore patrol vessels.

By possessing elements of both types of ships, AOPS gains the ability to break through ice with its thick hull but loses speed and maneuverability.

It might have been better -- and more affordable-- had Canada ordered some patrol vessels specifically designed for the Arctic and others, which are at a lower cost without the thickened hulls, for open-water patrol along its Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Canada should not try to have a three-ocean navy all in one ship.

RIMPAC 2012 - Esquimalt-based submarine makes debut at international super-drill

Naval exercise off Hawaii marks first time Canada shares command

The arrival Tuesday of Canada’s only functioning submarine at the world’s largest naval exercise off Hawaii marks the first time a Victoria-class sub will participate in the international drill.

The ability of HMCS Victoria, the CFB-Esquimalt based submarine, to train with 40 surface ships, six submarines and more than 200 aircraft is an opportunity “you can’t replicate through simulation,” said Commodore Peter Ellis, the Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific.

The six-week Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC, also marks the first time the United States has handed over control of key operations to Canadian officers.

The exercise, which began June 29 and ends Aug. 3, includes 25,000 personnel from 22 nations.

Ellis and two other Canadian officers leading operations during RIMPAC spoke to the Times Colonist on a conference call Tuesday from Pearl Harbour.

After a decade spent mostly in dry dock, HMCS Victoria completed the first part of its work up and fired an exercise version of the MK48 torpedo in March. The boat will complete its high-readiness certification during the exercise, which Ellis called “a huge milestone.”

“Victoria’s crew will really benefit from the entire experience and I dare say the surface ships [and other submarines] will benefit from having Victoria as an opponent,” Ellis said. “Everyone can learn from each other here.”

The super-drill, which is held every two years, is aimed at building relationships between Pacific nations, considered key to keeping the Asia-Pacific corridor safe.

Ellis compared some portions of the exercise to a pick-up hockey game, where players swap teams in order to understand how others operate. “We’ll do that during the exercise to enhance the ability to work together but also to show off [our navy’s] independent capabilities.”

CFB Esquimalt-based war ships HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Ottawa are also participating, as are the base’s fleet diving unit and a Sea King helicopter from 442 Squadron at CFB Comox.

The first week starts with myriad safety meetings and communications tests before the ships start more intense live training, including missile trials, aircraft landing and anti-warfare drills.

The exercise ends with a fast-paced, four-day “real world” scenario that incorporates land, sea and aircraft capabilities, said Ellis, who is the commander of combined task force 176, an amphibious group led by USS Essex.

This year marks the first time Canadian officers have been given senior leadership positions in the exercise, which is typically dominated by the United States.

“The fact that Canada is playing a key role speaks to the size of our contributions to RIMPAC, which is second to the United States in this case,” said Brig.-Gen. Michael Hood, the combined forces air component commander for the exercise.

Rear-Admiral Ron Lloyd has been assigned deputy commander combined task force, the command structure in charge of the exercise.

Decades-long mission to replace Sea Kings hits another snag

After more than 25 years of trying to replace the country’s fleet of Sea King maritime helicopters, the Canadian Forces have watched another deadline come and go.

Sikorsky International Operations Inc. was supposed to deliver the first of 28 state-of-the-art CH-148 Cyclones in June, after the Harper government agreed in late 2008 to extend the deadline on the $5.7-billion contract by 43 months.

In the latest in a string of missteps in military procurements, Sikorsky is pushing back on the delivery, with still no official date being offered for the completion of the contract.

“Sikorsky has yet to start delivering the Cyclones,” said Sébastien Bois, a spokesman for Public Works and Government Services Canada.

The Sea Kings, which are nearly 50 years old, have been famously unreliable in recent years as they were placed aboard Canadian frigates on overseas missions to places such as the Persian Gulf. The Cyclones are expected to be more effective in all types of challenging environments, with high-tech radars and sensors to patrol the world’s turbulent seas.

The purchase is the latest in a series of problematic procurements by the Canadian Forces, such as the purchase of underperforming second-hand submarines and delays in acquiring search-and-rescue planes. The biggest controversy for the Harper government to date surrounds the mishandling of the sole-sourced $15-billion deal for F-35 fighter jets, which was the subject of a hard-hitting report by the Auditor-General this spring.

Sikorsky signed a contract with the previous Liberal government in 2004 to start delivering the fleet of Cyclones in 2008. The Harper government agreed in late 2008 to extend the deadline for the delivery of helicopters to June of this year, citing technological hurdles faced by the company.

The contract extension included a funding increase of $117-million as Ottawa said it would receive more powerful choppers than initially planned.

Sikorsky and the federal government are remaining vague about the problems with the Cyclone program, but it is clear the company is struggling to obtain the “airworthiness certification” that is mandatory for the helicopters to fly off on military missions. In addition, the company is still working to ensure the helicopters have the necessary engine power to meet the government’s mandatory endurance requirements.

Ottawa has been trying to replace its Sea Kings with new ship-borne helicopters since the mid-1980s. The Mulroney government had decided to purchase EH-101 helicopters for the job, but in one of his first acts in office, former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien scrapped the contract in 1993. The cancellation cost taxpayers $478-million.

After a series of delays, the Liberals announced in 2004 that Sikorsky had won the competition to replace the Sea Kings, which the Canadian Forces had acquired between 1963 and 1969. Problems with the Sea Kings have abounded over the years, including crashes and routine groundings on military missions.

The opposition said the replacement program has become a national embarrassment.

“The whole program has been a disaster,” said NDP MP Jack Harris, who called on the government to slap maximum penalties against the company.

So far, Ottawa has imposed $8-million in liquidated damages against Sikorsky, and is threatening to run up the bill.

“Failure to deliver fully compliant Maritime Helicopters will be met with significant additional charges to the company,” said Michelle Bakos, a spokeswoman for Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose.

The company is late on two fronts. In addition to delays in delivering the final version of the Cyclone helicopter, Sikorsky is also well behind on its promise to deliver an “interim” version of the Cyclone to be used for training.

According to the 2008 contract extension, the interim helicopters were supposed to meet watered-down requirements, and were scheduled to arrive at the Canadian Forces base in Shearwater, N.S., in November, 2010. However, that portion of the contract has also not been fulfilled, causing months of delays in the training of technicians and aircrews.

“Critical work remains to be done before the Government of Canada can take official delivery and assume ownership of the interim helicopters,” Mr. Bois said. “Sikorsky leadership has reconfirmed their commitment to deliver helicopters at no additional cost to the Crown.”

Public Works and National Defence are stating that they expect the delivery of the interim helicopters to occur “later this year.” This suggests the delivery of the fully compliant helicopters – initially scheduled for 2008 – will not happen until 2013.

The Auditor-General investigated the Cyclone purchase in 2010, and concluded that National Defence underestimated the complexity of developing the military helicopters, which were wrongly defined as being an “off-the-shelf” purchase.

“In our opinion, National Defence did not adequately assess the developmental nature of this aircraft, and the risks related to cost and the complexity of the required technical modifications were underestimated,” the Auditor-General said.

Navy destroyers will be retired before replacements arrive, documents reveal

Canada's navy will have to do more with less in a few years as internal documents and Defence Department insiders have confirmed the country's aging fleet of destroyers will be retired before replacements are ready.

The revelation highlights the pressure the Conservative government and Canadian Forces are under as they race against the clock to start cutting steel on new vessels through their promised $35 billion national shipbuilding procurement strategy.

"It just kind of echoes the same worries that we've had," said Andrew Warden, head of maritime affairs at the Navy League of Canada. "These projects keep being delayed and delayed, and the ships just keep getting older and older."

The navy's Iroquois-class destroyers were built in the early 1970s and underwent a major upgrade in the 1990s so they could provide anti-submarine warfare, anti-aircraft defence as well as command-and-control capabilities for Canadian and allied naval task forces.

Over the decades, the destroyers have participated in missions off Canada's shores and around the world, including in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Storm, the Indian Ocean after 9/11 and in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake.

Briefing notes prepared for Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino in May 2011 and obtained by Postmedia News state the destroyers "will reach the end of their planned service life beginning in 2017, at which point they will be over 43 years old."

Yet the notes also say the Iroquois-class "will not be replaced before it is retired," an assessment that was confirmed Wednesday by a senior official within National Defence.

The navy is putting in place plans to ensure the loss of the destroyers won't negatively impact the maritime force's capabilities, and Warden said Canada's 12 Halifax-class frigates can take on many of the tasks currently assigned to the destroyers.

However, the loss of the Iroquois-class "will definitely limit some of our options" in terms of what type of operations the navy can undertake during that period, Warden said, while the key question is exactly how long the gap will last.

Treasury Board, which holds the federal purse strings, reportedly agreed on Tuesday to release several hundred million dollars so the Defence Department could move ahead and begin designing the vessels that will replace the destroyers and frigates.

This is considered a significant step and the hope is that negotiations with Irving Shipyard in Halifax and associated contractors responsible for building the next generation of naval surface combatants will be finished by 2016, with the first ship delivered in the early 2020s.

But Fantino's briefing notes warned that the "critical" $26.6-billion Canadian-surface-combatant (CSC) project to replace the destroyers as well as the frigates would need to enter the design phase in 2011 to ensure the rest of the process — including contract negotiations with industry — moved ahead smoothly.

On top of that, senior naval officers noted at a recent conference there were more than 400 people working directly on the Halifax-class frigate program in the 1980s and another 1,000 contributing in other ways.

In contrast, there are about 30 currently assigned to the project that will replace the frigates and Iroquois-class destroyers, with that number expected to peak at only a couple hundred in the coming years.

"There needs to be an understanding across this community about the relative fragility of the staff capacity that we are seeing," deputy naval commander Rear-Admiral Mark Norman said at the time. "This is not anyone's fault. It's just a reality."

National Defence is already facing the reality that the first naval vessels to be produced under the Conservative government's national shipbuilding plan — armed Arctic vessels — will be delivered three years later than anticipated.

Warden worried there will be a spill-over effect on the destroyers and frigates.

"It does not bode well that CSC is coming after the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and the AOPS have already been delayed," he said. "That means we're already three years behind."

Jim Carruthers, president of the Ottawa branch of the Naval Association of Canada, said delays are the price that must be paid to ensure the government's $35-billion shipbuilding plan not only produces vessels, but also positions the country as a global shipbuilding power.

"In an ideal world there wouldn't be any gap," he said of the destroyers. "And I expect there will be more delays. But it's the sensible thing to be done (building up the industry), and there was a price."